doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Parker doubling

Doubletrouble,

on a double trigger gun, about the only thing that could mechanically be wrong is a tired sear or maybe a tired sear spring. If the spring is weak, it may not be putting enough dowward pressure on the sear when cocking to fully engage the sear on the hammer.

If the gun was restocked, it could be that not enough wood was removed in a particular spot and causing the problem.

Never say never, but... IF the trigger plate was warped, it may or may not cause this issue since the sears and all other related cocking parts are attached to the frame, not the trigger plate. But the triggers are on the plate and they could be contacting the sears a bit if the plate was warped. Who knows.

I hope I was able to lend a few ideas as to the root of the issue.

I agree with a few of the other "calmer heads" on this thread- Beating up on Ed "Da Torch" Lander and his personal experiences with double guns is like trying to teach a pig to sing German opera-- You get frustrated and it just annoys the Hell out of everybody- there are plenty of other venues for personal attacks, let's take the high road.

I agree with Herr Dudley here. I have two older 12 ejector doubles, one with double triggers, and one with a single selective trigger, and both have doubled a few times, but i found out the cause without any diss-assembly required.

Case 1-- 1945 pre-Marlin (Feb with hang tag) 12 LC Smith Ideal FWE 26" barrels, DT-- I bought this from a local dealer at the "Yooper" shoot, after my 12 GHE developed recocking problems (since cured by Brad Bachelder, my preferred gunsmith) and I needed a 12 double to complete the SC program. I was using RST 2.5" 1 ounce No 8 shot in the Parker, and continued to shoot that fine load in the Smith- A-OK. Later at home, using it for barn pigeons, I put a AA Handicap Trap load in the right barrel, and when I touched the trigger, there was a boom-pause-boom- so it had doubled. The gun is as new, hadn't been shot in years, and a removal of the lock plates showed no wear at sear bent or crud, so I went back to the RST lighter loads (always a safer bet with a Smith IMO) and no problemo.

I also have my Dad's 12 M21 field gun he got new in 1948-- SST, EJ--and with the trigger selector button set for right barrel first, no problem- if you move it to fire the left barrel first, about 1 in 10 times it will double, but only in that setting- As it is choked Mod right and Imp Mod left, I just leave it set for right barrel first-

Guns, like people, have their "quirks" and the "Gremlin" factor also can play a part. I just accomodate myself to those "quirks" and live with them--RWTF

I know nothing about Parkers, but it could be as simple as a few overtightened screws causing the trigger plate to come in contact prematurely with the sear/s.

Because it was restocked I would first look for a problem with the triggers engaging the sears. I have had Brad do quite a bit of work for me and believe he's one of the best gunsmiths there is. If you're interested he can be reached at 616-459-3636.

I'll second that-- I left the GHE with him in June 2010- the cocking slide had worn and was not engaging when you broke open the gun to recock the hammers-- I had it back in my hands 3 weeks later, and it hasn't missed a beat since--Brad Bachelder is a Master Craftsman in the truest sense of the word!!!

How 'bout dat Foxy... and he ain't even a union man !

Doubling of Parkers isn't THAT unusual. I have one that did it a number of times before I fixed it by honing the worn sear end to a better 'point'. Mine would double when the recoil of shooting the left bbl first would jar the sear on the right bbl enough to release it. Generally the right barrel gets shot way more than the left barrel so the sear wears quicker. It was a pretty simple job to jig it and touch up the point on a fine diamond stone. The left bbl sear was still fine. Whenever I buy another Parker I cock it and slap the bejeezus out of the receiver on all sides trying to get it to go off just to see if it's worn enough to do so.